To think it’s about time @MNHQ stepped up and did something about the teacher bashing.

[SachaStark]

This evening has been AWFUL here on the AIBU board.

@MNHQ, at what point do you actually plan to intervene and do something about the sheer number of teacher bashing threads, and individual posts? Should we expect any kind of moderation?

Or, is this in fact, “all in the spirit of Mumsnet”? Because at the moment, you’re making it look a darn sight like you agree by proxy.

About to get in the bath so will be a delay in responding if you do reply. Am genuinely interested.

TheHoneyBadger* Because in my area they require both parents to be key workers who are working. Clearly we don’t fit that criteria.

Why would I send them when one parent is at home, even if I could?

Two NHS staff here, kids kept at home.

I was made to feel very guilty about sending them in (by school staff). So I kept them home. I’m officially WFH but getting very little done.

They’re going back ASAP, at a time I won’t be made to feel guilty.

TheHoneyBadger I feel you are wanting me to say I didn’t send them because of safety concerns. That’s not the case at all and if I had to send them then they would have been there.

Don’t know but lots of furloughed and sahps on here have expressed similar avid support for being to be able to send their children back. Why wouldn’t you though given you think it’s safe and important for them to go?

Which elements, examples would really help to give a picture, of your job have you found most high risk?

I’m lost as to how putting a temporary wall down the middle of a 4x4 room with 15 kids on either side creates more space for distancing than 30 and 1 teacher without the ‘wall’?

It might help to read the guidance. But in a nutshell there is no requirement for schools to socially distance the children. Instead they are to be in small groups of 15 children in seperate rooms.

The size of the room is not a regulated fact - the children don't have to be kept physically apart. There would be uproar if it was expected to keep the children 2m apart - it is not expected at all. Quite rightly so.

The government's guidance has the emphasis is on cleanliness and hygiene, not social distancing. Space, square metres of floor space avaliable, are irrelevant to cleanliness and hygiene.

So classrooms that normally house 30 can be spilt with temporary partition walls (and some unnecessary furnature removed) to house two classes of 15.

The children will be largely physically close as they were. Because, ill say again, there is no aim to socially distance the children.

The idea is to form "bubbles" of children who mix. If one gets ill then all will self isolate. This self isolation is to protect elderly and vulnerable - so keep the child at home and away from anyone over 70 or medically vulnerable. Ill child is tested (due to having symptoms) and teacher tested (as key worker). If any child start symptoms during 7 day isolation, they get a test straight away. If all well after 7 days, back to school.

TheHoneyBadger Because, quite simply I can’t. Even if I wanted to. So there has been no point thinking about it🤷‍♀️.

As for your last sentence 😂😂. Well, most of the people I deal with don’t give a shit about the law at the best of time and a wee virus like corona isn’t stopping them in their activities.

I have children in both primary and high school and the difference in the lesson planning and contact couldn't be more opposite if they tried

Same experience here.

Lots of excellent work being set by subject teachers for Y7 ds. Plenty of feedback, all work marked, lots of contact and an overview of the terms topics for each subject.

Y5 ds’s primary have sent 3 worksheets with a grid of things to do on each. There’s plenty of work been set but ZERO feedback or marking, Zero contact. His school is closed (entirely). It’s really, really poor.

I still don't know how they are getting into their " bubble" if there is only one door to go through, or do all your classrooms have 2 doors? Otherwise surely they will have to go through one bubble to get to the next?

You mean burglars aren’t asking for PPE? Fuck, I haven’t even been locking my doors.

Daffodil101 I did try to put handcuffs on at a two metre distance. Didn’t work very well 😂

Can people seriously not imagine why police officers are at high risk for corona.

They are among the highest risk group after health care workers.

"why do some just block with “ we don’t have to, so we don’t“?"

If they don't have to they don't. End of.

What an extremely disappointing response. Is that really how you think? I am glad you are not my child's teacher.

I am very sympathetic to teachers feeling it's scary/unworkable to return to work. There are so many unknowns at the moment.

BUT I do have an issue with those teachers who are not engaging with the lockdown work process. I suppose like in any workforce there are hard workers and lazy so-and-sos, but the current situation has exposed some teachers in all their can't-be-arsed glory.

Dd at secondary school has two teachers who have been marvellous - calling pupils, setting and marking work, finding extra activities to do. One teacher, on the other hand, who incidentally never marked anything before coronavirus was ever heard of, has now totally absented themselves and conveniently has apparently gone to stay with their parents and can't access the internet

After this there should be a general performance review and rewards for teachers who have stepped up to the plate and a hail of rotten tomatoes and a pay cut for those who have come up with stuff like it's "not in their contract" to do home learning.

Fate - I do think it could be a good solution if classrooms are large enough but seriously - it just wouldn't be possible for our rooms. They simply aren't large enough at all. Fitting 30 in them normally is cramped. Our reception classrooms don't even space for enough tables and chairs to seat 30 children at a time normally. That's without taking into consideration access into the rooms.

The problem with old Victorian buildings is often their lack of flexibility of space. We already house two classes in a cabin in the playground normally.

The idea of marquees in the playground - we have an all concrete playground, quite small, mainly on a slope. And although it's summer - well English summers aren't really known for their consistently warm and dry weather are they?

I still don't know how they are getting into their " bubble"

They use common sence spanieleyes.

They walk through playground, corridors, school to get to their bubble. But they do so with cleanliness and hygiene in mind. So

● avoid multi-group areas when other groups are there (staggering start times).
● Cleaners keep doors and such clean throughout the day
● Wash hands upon arrival.

HTH

Something that's become very apparent recently is that a lot of people really have no idea what it's like to work in certain jobs.

I get that teachers are frustrated because we don't seem to understand why they don't feel safe re-opening.

But I've seen so many comments in past weeks where people really have no idea what working conditions are like for shop workers, or police, or tube drivers. People think they are less at risk than they really are, and they don't really get any credit for continuing to work.

Maybe we can all try to understand each other situation's a bit better.

dreaming agreed.
I’ve seen some rank hypocrisy from people endlessly demanding people stay at home yet ordering all manner of things online with no thought to how people are being expected to make the items, packeage thrm , to get it to them etc

IrmaFayLear
I agree with most of your post.

However, be aware that there has never been any requirement for some of the live provision that some schools are offering and the fact that some are doing this (especially by zoom given safeguarding issues) is causing some conflict.

Some school provision has been poor, but that's not on individual class teachers. The remote learning strategy is set by the head and senior leadership, not class teachers.

If anyone has concerns about their child's school and the provision then they need to take it up with the head, rather than come on Mumsnet to rant at how teachers aren't doing their jobs/don't want to work / aren't doing anything.

I can totally understand why hardworking teachers get upset about “teacher bashing”. They however need to understand that there are currently a lot of parents who are frustrated because their children aren’t being set work, and in some cases have had no communication from school at all. There are plenty of teachers who are at home on full pay, doing no work at all. Parents are worried and want to share their worries with other parents.

I would send them back as normal. It is not fair on full time working parents many of whom will be ordered into work soon or else face the sack who are currently having to work in shifts with their husband - some working from 8pm to 4am and that kind of thing (and then up at 6am with the baby). hopefully nurseries will open on 1 June which will help.

Then we move to the children -not fir on them for a disease which has killed only about 322 people under age 45 in the UK so far.

People luckily despite the breach of civil liberties lock down are still allowed to express views. If teachers don't like that they can just not read a thread about teachers.

If anyone has concerns about their child's school and the provision then they need to take it up with the head

I would love to do this @LolaSmiles. Unfortunately I have no way of contacting the head other than the main school phone number, or the general enquiry email address. The phone goes straight to voicemail (I have left messages) and my emails go unanswered (possibly unread if no one is checking them!)

I had to take it up with the deputy head when I was having problems with glow and couldn’t access it or the work. The user name and password I was given was wrong. One of the other mums asked the teacher to call me to discuss it.

I’m still waiting. So when the school sent a jolly Easter message I replied to it voicing my disappointment and within an hour I had the deputy on the phone to me. So individual teachers can be poor, not just the work that is set.

Exactly HelloMissus

So many virtuous posts from people who never leave the house 'except to go food shopping', as if the food shops do not contain actual people working there who are being constantly exposed.

I shall be commending some of dd's teachers when appropriate. (How do I do this? To their HoD? The Head?) It was as if some of them had been preparing for this for years and were able to hit the ground running and indeed have gone beyond the call of duty.

I do maintain, though, that there are a fair few teachers who are a) lazy or b) political (or both!) and this crisis has exposed them. 'Twas ever thus: when I was seven aeons ago I had a teacher who left before the children every day. She grabbed her bag and ran out at 3.15pm. My mum was always amused that we'd meet her walking her dog when we were only half-way home. Every afternoonat school we'd do jigsaws/plasticine, and Mrs G would snooze at her desk at the front . Some boys would throw crayons at her to wake her up .